


This Is Home

by plaidpie



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, Family, Fluff, Home, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-10
Updated: 2014-05-10
Packaged: 2018-01-24 05:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1593248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plaidpie/pseuds/plaidpie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Killua learns that home is not a place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Is Home

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! I'm so thankful for the response to this story.  
> Killua still remains to be one of my favorite anime characters of all time! I love his personality and backstory and all the angst.
> 
> [ PODFIC can be found at the end of the story! ]

Killua finds out the meaning of home quickly and without preamble.

He finds it in Aunt Mito’s smile, in the way she cooks for him and looks after him and asks how he’s been and what he’s been up to whenever he comes to visit. She treats him as well as she treats Gon, like he’s a son to her, like he matters to her. And she hugs him every time he shows up and then several times over the course of his visit. Aunt Mito herself smells like home – like a warm fire and the promise of food and a place to sleep, like flowers and grass and clean, sun-dried laundry. This, Killua thinks, is how a real mother smells.

_He tries to forget that his own mother smells like blood and sweat and the murky, sour scent of countless poisons._

Killua finds home in Leorio’s phone calls and the worry in his tone when he asks if they have any injuries. There’s warmth in Leorio’s laugh and a determination in life that tells Killua he’s been through more than he lets on and just chooses not to show it. Leorio’s kind and blunt and bold and strong and Killua wonders if this is what having a father figure feels like. Leorio scolds appropriately and even once tries to explain to them certain things about women and what one should and shouldn’t do, giving up completely when Killua grumbles and keeps muttering ‘gross’ over and over. Eventually Leorio always asks about their lives and what’s been happening, if they need any help or if they’re in any trouble. He teaches Gon how to set a bone and instructs Killua on how to be gentle when applying a bandage or helping to heal a wound.

_Killua tries to forget that his own father never bothered to teach him anything about gentleness; only how to snap a neck efficiently or make the pain worse for their victims._

Killua feels at home in Kurapika’s presence. The blond always calls, just like Leorio, and asks the same questions. But he teases Killua and Gon sometimes and makes them laugh when he describes Leorio’s latest antics (usually with the man in question making annoyed sounds in the background the entire time). Kurapika tells Killua he shouldn’t be so alert all the time, that he should lighten up when has the chance. It’s a funny thing, coming from Kurapika, but even the blond admits to Killua that it drains a body to be on the watch every second of the day. Gon has no problem with relaxing, but Killua’s nerves are almost always shot, ready to spring him into action at any moment. He learns from Kurapika the things that one usually learns from a brother.

_And he tries to forget that his own brother never taught him such things, never taught him how to just have a bit of fun in life or relax every once in a while. He tries not to remember that his own brother is a murderer._

_Killua tries to forget that he is one as well. And fails._

Gon is the one who solidifies _home_ in his mind. The boy isn’t like a brother or a family member at all. He’s too familiar, too close. Killua loves this boy with his entire being. Without a thought, he would give his life for this dark haired, rambunctious ball of energy that has ceased to leave Killua’s side in the few years that they’ve known eachother. He’s beautiful, in Killua’s eyes. Beautiful in a way that no one else can be. They touch – arms and elbows and hands and feet – without a thought, even while asleep. Killua wakes up some mornings with Gon’s legs thrown across his own and the boy’s hair in his mouth. He should be annoyed, but there’s always a warmth in his chest that blocks out any kind of irritation he might’ve felt otherwise.

So when Gon asks, his voice sleepy with early morning and his hands tangled in Killua’s shirt, “We’ll always travel together, won’t we?”

Killua answers, “Of course, idiot. After all, you’re my home.”

 

 

 

 

 

. . . 

 

 

PODFIC can be found [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8446183).


End file.
